Tag Archives: machine

YouTube is full of Christmas gift freak-out videos, with kids loosing themselves in episodes of hysterical happiness because they discovered an Xbox or something like that under the tree. Screaming and jumping around the room, completely loosing it.

Although adults, some of us were on the verge of reenacting some of those YouTube classics. Most of all, it’s the guys in the anti-static blue shirts that work in the manufacturing area. The occasion, of course, was the arrival of four brand new machines.

mikroe.com – These are the new machines that tripled our production capabilities – [Link]

redFrog Pick and Place machine – example of the pick and place process – [via]

This video demonstrates the process from solder paste application to picking and placing the SMD components to the final flowing of the solder. The picking and placing is done using the new redFrog pick and place machine.

In the spirit of the slow, automated writing machine in Kafka’s “In the Penal Colony”, but channeled through laser-cut plastic, hobby servos and ink, “The Bureaucrat” was at the NYC Resistor table at MakerFaire, stamping the date on hackerspace passports.

This very entertaining take on the classic most useless machine gag is not quite so patient as its ancestors. Oh sure, it does what they all do: When you turn it on, it turns itself off. And it’ll do that over and over again. But, much like my college roommate, the machine has its limits, and it’s probably wise not to push it too far. [via]

This is a really nice drum machine that utilizes DIP switches to control the drum beats. Those types of switches are hard to manipulate, but I imagine you could easily replace them with an easier to use 2 or 3 position toggle switch.

The two dip switches work in tandem so that each 1/8th note can have four possibilities (two bits) worth). If the position on the right switch is 0 and the position on the left switch is 0, then nothing is played. If the setup is 1 and 0, then a kick sample is played. If the setup is 0 and 1, then a snare sample is played. If the setup is 1 and 1, then a hi-hat sample is played. [via]